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Matthew and Melinda just returned from Mexico and had dinner last night with Janet and her family!
She posted this picture for me on her blog and I promptly stole it, took out the red eye :o),
and uploaded it here!!! They look so great.
Matthew called on the way to Janet's yesterday evening.
He said everything went very well.

He thought the food was great (beans and tortillas) and that no one got sick.
They worked construction and put on puppet shows for the children.

He said he was happy to go...but he did mention that Melinda had to stay in a separate area of the church with the girls and he stayed with the boys....

Not the most romantic way to spend their first anniversary!

But really a memorable and enriching one!

Welcome home you two.
We love you and are proud of you!!


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I wish I could have been there with Janet, cooking and preparing and then entertaining that group!!!

Did you know that since I have been married, in fact, my whole life since college, I have never lived in the same town with one of my six siblings. The closest was Nancy for a few years and she lived 150 miles away.

Isn't that the sad? You can all feel properly sorry for me know.

Okay. Thanks.

That's a really big reason I love this blog and the internet.

It has made me feel connected to them...and given me such a sweet sense of community.

When I first moved away from the Chicago area, an old friend said I would need to bloom where I was planted.

And then I learned of Elisabeth Elliot and her radio show, and she said amazing things like;

There they are—six things that, if done in faith, can be the way to resurrection: be still and know, give thanks, refuse self-pity, accept the loneliness, offer it to God, turn your energies toward the satisfaction not of your own needs but of others’.

And then our children grew up and started moving away,
and I am so thankful that I had Elisabeth counseling me all those years.

Because those are still the kind of words I need to hear and take to heart.





And then God gave us this little angel to comfort her mama as all the big kids went away.

And to act as muse :o)


Miss Muse is going to see Wall*e today with her daddy while I do a photoshoot.

We will let you know if Wall*e is as good as it looks!

Have a fantastic weekend!




This is Jason Mraz. I heard a little bit of this song on Dancing with the Stars and found the video on youtube.

Enjoy!


Encourage one another,
Donna